Music: Headstunts

The Datsuns.

At first listen, the fourth album from New Zealand's Datsuns could pass for by-the-numbers hard rock: Amid a rush of guitars and migraine-inducing drums, singer Dolf de Borst rants and raves with wild-eyed fervor. But thoughtful twists lurk within the noise of songs such as the Green Day soundalike "Cruel Cruel Fate," which analyzes a doomed romance, while the eight-minute "Somebody Better" showcases Christian Livingstone's psychedelic guitar. Still, it's hard to top the belligerent "Highschool Hoodlums" for pure animal fun.